Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 3rd Edition

| By Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, RN | Several years ago, for the previous edition of The Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, I wrote the foreword from the privileged vantage point of a balcony overlooking a lush, tropical rainforest in South America. Although cognizant of health threats nearby in the otherwise magnificent jungle, including pristine-appearing streams … Read more

Polio Strikes Back: A Look at a Once-Defeated Foe in Gale Case Studies

| By Rebecca Parks | On July 21, 2022, health professionals in New York made the discovery that a man in Rockland County, near New York City, had contracted polio. The discovery was startling because there had not been a diagnosed case of polio in the United States since 2013, and there hadn’t been a … Read more

Spreading the Word about a New, Serious Hepatitis in Children

| By Brenda W. Lerner, RN, ALB | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is spreading the word for pediatricians to look for signs in their young patients of an unusual disease that attacks the liver, causing a serious hepatitis-like syndrome. So far (as of late April 2022), the disease has killed one … Read more

Support Childhood Resiliency

| By Kathleen J. Edgar | When life’s stresses seem overwhelming, do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a kid again, living a carefree life, full of fun and games, playing outdoors, free of responsibilities? That idyllic life of cheerfulness and enjoyment may exist in your mind, but it is not … Read more

The Debate over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

| By Gale Staff | By mid-February 2022 in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic had killed an estimated 918,000 people, and more than 2,000 people continued to die from it each day. About 214 million people, more than 64 percent of Americans, had been fully vaccinated (and 76 percent partially vaccinated) with one of … Read more

Minding the Shift: A Librarian’s Transition

| By Jessica McIntosh | COVID-19 has thrown the world into a seemingly never-ending storm. Continuous conversation about societal shifts, the “Great Resignation,” and changes in education are heard daily. This constant communication has trickled down to impact individuals on a level we haven’t seen in decades. And now these changes have become personal. After … Read more

Researching the Omicron Variant

| By K. Lee Lerner | Viruses are constantly undergoing mutation. Genetic mutations, most commonly a set of multiple mutations, produce different viral strains or variants. As we begin 2022, nearing the start of the third year of a global pandemic, the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 disease, is spreading rapidly … Read more

The “Immortal” Henrietta Lacks

| By Tracie Moy | Update: Henrietta Lacks’ estate is suing a biotech company, accusing it of selling the cells that were taken from her in 1951 without her knowledge or consent. Lacks’ cells, reproduced countless times, are a foundation of modern medicine. Read the full article. Original blog published February, 8, 2021: Henrietta Lacks … Read more